


Unfulfilled Potential

by carolej126, SueN, TeriH



Series: Storm [3]
Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-09 08:42:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18634705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolej126/pseuds/carolej126, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SueN/pseuds/SueN, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeriH/pseuds/TeriH
Summary: Written by the Mod Squad (otherwise known as Carole, Sue, and Teri).Written for the VinList Complete Your Own Adventure Challenge, with all stories in the series using the same opening but then splitting off in various directions.JD shares just a few jokes along the way.





	Unfulfilled Potential

_The day had dawned bright and clear, the warm southern breeze a promise of summer which loomed just around the corner. But as was often the case in the last few weeks what was promised was not to be. By midmorning the sky was dotted with wispy clouds. By noon the wind had changed and blew from the west carrying with it the familiar odor of rain as dark clouds gathered on the horizon. By midafternoon the sun was being obscured by the approaching storm front, and with it the warmth of its rays, the rumble of thunder growing ever louder. With the first flash of lightning Chris motioned toward the nearby structure._

_Vin and Ezra did not have to be told twice and ran toward the relative safety found within the building as the storm built around them. Chris brought up the rear and prepared to pull the door shut behind them as a gust of wind yanked it from his grasp and slammed it against the outer wall before flying closed with a resounding bang. Before there could be a repeat performance Chris slid the latch into place._

_Vin watched dust devils dance merrily across the floor as the wind whistled through cracks in the walls and under the door. Then, suddenly there was a flash of light and a resounding **crack** , followed by the booming rumble of thunder loud enough to rattle the walls._

_“We can hazard a guess that the old oak in the meadow took a direct strike,” Ezra stated to no one in particular. “I wonder how Buck and JD are faring?”_

_Chris nodded his agreement. “Buck sure picked a hell of a day to show JD his favorite fishing hole.”_

_As the first ping of rain hit the tin roof Ezra moved toward the center of the building, leaned against one of the structure’s wooden support poles, and casually picked a piece of lint from the cuff of his shirt as the three settled in to wait out the storm._

*******

"How d'you know about this place?" Buck asked, staring out at the driving rain as a low rumble of thunder echoed around the hillside.

"Vin told me there were caves up here," JD replied with a shrug, "ain't had a chance to check 'em out 'til now."

The two friends watched the deluge in silence for several minutes, then JD gave Buck a playful nudge.

"I got a question for ya," he announced with a grin. "Where do fish sleep?"

Sighing, Buck shook his head.

"Okay, I'll bite. Where do fish sleep?"

"On the river bed!" JD returned gleefully and Buck chuckled despite himself. The kid's enthusiasm was amusing, even if his jokes weren't.

A vivid flash of lightning split the sky and he found himself counting the seconds 'til the sound of the thunder, hoping the storm was moving away and they'd soon be headed back to the fishing hole.

*******

"Quit prowlin'," Vin rasped from under his hat.

"I am not prowling," Ezra informed, neatly stepping over the Texan's prone form, "I am pacing... and measuring."

"Measurin' what?" Chris enquired.

Halting his pacing, Ezra made a sweeping gesture with his arm.

"Tell me, Mr Larabee, what do you see?"

"A cabin," Chris replied with a shrug.

Ezra quirked an eyebrow. "Using your own humble abode as a comparison, I would say this is rather more than a cabin."

"A _large_ cabin," Chris bristled.

"A sizeable property and barn -"

"A _small_ barn," Chris interjected, throwing a glance out the window, across the rain drenched yard, to the structure their horses were currently sheltering in.

" - albeit in a somewhat neglected state of repair."

"Guessin' that's why Morganstern asked us to check it out," Vin drawled, lifting his hat to peer at the southerner. "See if it's still standin', or fit to be pulled down."

"Indeed, although it may be advantageous to understate the condition of the buildings when we make our report to the bank."

"You thinkin' of buyin' the place?" Chris smirked.

"It has potential." Ezra's smile widened, and a well manicured thumb tapped his bottom lip. "With a little work, it could be made a most desirable property."

"And be sold at a profit," Chris surmised as Vin got easily to his feet and brushed himself down.

"That would be the desired outcome," Ezra agreed, taking a step back from the clouds of dust that flew from the tracker's clothes. "I would of course be willing to share the rewards in return for a small investment."

Vin rolled his eyes as he crossed to the door and opened it, taking a deep breath of the cool, fresh air that blew in. "Storm's passed."

With a final look around the _large_ cabin, Ezra stepped outside and pulled the door closed behind him. Taking care to avoid the puddles, he broke into a jog to catch up to his companions as they crossed the yard to the barn.

*******

Buck flinched, closing his eyes as yet another brilliant flash of lightning illuminated the area for a few seconds. Instead of moving away, the storm had apparently chosen to linger directly over their heads, whipping dirt and debris, as well as rain, into their small cave.

One of the good things about the lightning, Buck decided, was the fact that the flashes of light provided an assurance that they were not sharing the small area with a wild animal or two. That would have been fun.

The other good thing was that the “wondrous beauty of God’s creation” – as Josiah would have put it – had JD completely enthralled, and the non-stop fish jokes had finally come to an end. Although, how long that would last, he had no idea.

“Hey, Buck, where do fish keep their money?”

Without waiting for Buck to respond, JD burst out in laughter, barely able to answer his own joke. “In the river bank! Get it?”

Buck sighed. Apparently his respite was over.

*******

In their haste to secure shelter for their animals and themselves, the three men hadn’t really taken the time to examine the barn closely, instead quickly leading the horses inside and running for the cabin.

Now, with the rain stopped, and the sun shining overhead, Vin and Chris, with Ezra in tow, approached the small structure.

They weren’t impressed.

Even Ezra, despite his “somewhat neglected state of repair” acknowledgement, wasn’t able to muffle a sigh.

While the barn seemed structurally sound from a distance, it was clear upon a closer inspection that the building was lucky to have survived the storm.

“’A little work,’” Vin quoted, shaking his head. “Looks like a lotta work t’ me, and not worth the trouble.”

Ezra pursed his lips, studying the roof and walls. The roof – if you could call it a roof - had let in a substantial amount of rain, which had turned the dirt floor to mud. The walls, while still upright, were constructed with little more than rotted wood.

“Let’s get the horses out before this thing falls in,” Chris suggested, putting words to action. A few minutes later, all three horses had been led from the barn and tied to a railing post.

"With a small investment and,” Ezra paused to nod sagely in Vin’s direction, “a little work, I still believe it would be possible to-“

“Ez,” Vin cut in, “one good push and this thing’s gonna fall over.”

“My dear sir, that is surely an exaggeration,” Ezra argued, resting his hand against an outside wall.

It wasn’t. To their amazement – and amusement, if the truth be told – the entire building wavered, wobbled, and then collapsed upon itself, leaving a cloud of dust and dirt wafting in the air.

“Good lord.”

*******

"A fish walks into a saloon. The barkeep says, 'What can I get you?' The fish replies (gasping), 'Water!'"

Wilmington watched as his young companion doubled over with laughter.

"Get it, Buck? Water!"

"Ain't funny."

"Well how about..."

Buck now knew, with certainty, that God was a man. There was no way that a benevolent being, if a woman, would subject him to such misery. Even if he did buy into that purgatory place that Josiah preached about, he was sure that happened _after_ you died.

"You listening, Buck? What kind of a fish chases mice?"

That's it! Maybe he was already dead and just didn't know it.

"Don't know, don't care, JD."

No, not dead. Well then penance, he was paying penance for some past misdeed.

"A catfish!"

Buck groaned and looked out the mouth of the cave hoping to see just a hint of blue in the dark sky, or _any sign_ the rain had begun to let up. His reward was a flash of light followed by a rolling crescendo of thunder.

*******

"Looks like ya hafta buy it now, Ez."

"But..."

"Vin's right. You break it, you buy it. Seems only fair."

"It's quite clear this...this...this _structure_ was an accident waiting to happen."

"Wouldn't be surprised if ol' man Morganstern don't expect rest...restitution." Vin smiled at Chris' acknowledgement of his use of one of Ezra's favorite words.

"Restitution? I think not. If anything we are owed a debt of gratitude for razing a dangerous structure. Some unsuspecting traveler might have been gravely injured had they happened up this death trap. In reality we have done the man a favor."

"You keep tellin' yourself that, Ez."

"At least we can report in good faith that the cabin itself is structurally sound and ready for habitation."

"Let's head home before that next batch of rain get here," Chris suggested as he looked toward the clouds forming in the west.

Chris and Vin swung up onto their horses as Ezra reached down to retrieve his hat that had fallen into the rubble of what was once the barn. As he lifted it from a group of boards a fat rat scurried from beneath the pile and Ezra stumbled back in surprise. The men watched as the rodent ran to the cabin and disappeared somewhere beneath.

"Appears the cabin's already occupied," Chris chuckled.

"Yep, great potential, Ez."

*******

"You are missing the bigger picture, gentlemen."

"That big picture include the pile of rubble that used to be a barn?" Chris smirked.

"An' the meadow with the lightnin' struck tree," Vin added, stretching in the saddle to ease his back. "The People'd say the place is cursed, don't get nothin' but bad luck from a lightnin' struck tree."

"I do not envisage _the People_ being interested in purchasing a cabin and land in this locale," Ezra stated, tetchily.

"So, it's just a cabin an' land now. You given up on rebuildin' the barn?"

"That would, of course, depend on the amount of investment I am able to procure. Which brings us back to the original point of this conversation, Mr Larabee."

"There is no point to this conversation, Ezra. I told you, I'm not interested."

"An' iffen I had any money, I wouldn't be investin' it in land that's cursed," Vin drawled, as the gambler looked his way.

"I would ask you to refrain from annunciating any superstitious notions concerning curses in the presence of potential investors."

"Don't see that as bein' much of a problem." Vin smirked.

Chris chuckled.

Ezra glared.

*******

"At last!" Buck exclaimed, getting to his feet and stretching out the kinks in his back.

Finally, the rain had stopped falling, and the sun was breaking out from behind the last of the storm clouds as they scudded away toward the horizon.

"That was some storm," JD declared, also standing and brushing the dust from his trousers. "Guess it's a little late for fishin' now."

"I tell you, JD, I'm about done with fish - and fish jokes - for today. What I need is a beer, somethin' to eat and some female company." Buck threw an arm across JD's shoulders as they stepped out of their shelter. "What say we get the horses and head back to town?"

"Okay," JD agreed amiably as they headed for the larger cave further up the hill where they'd left the horses.

Buck smiled. The sun was shining, the warm breeze would soon dry their damp clothes, and JD appeared to have run out of fish jokes. His day was getting better by the minute.

"Hey, Buck."

Buck's blood chilled in his veins.

"What did the horse say when it fell?" JD broke into a run, laughing, as Buck made a grab for him. "I've fallen and I can't giddyup!"

*******

"Buck an' JD comin' in," Vin rasped, as the familiar horses and riders topped the rise to the east and headed toward them.

"Potential investors?" Chris enquired with a wry smile.

Vin's snort was ignored by Ezra as he enthusiastically greeted the new arrivals.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen and how was-"

"Cursed!" Buck blazed, riding straight past them, while JD trailed behind him, grinning. "I've been cursed."

"Damn." Vin grinned. "Didn't get a chance to 'nunciate none of them superstitious notions."

"Kindly shut up, Mr Tanner."


End file.
